Mark's brother Guy Didsbury, from Featherston, said he had been flying helicopters for a couple of years.
He had recently moved from Wairarapa to Taupo to fly for Helisika, where his main job was to take hunters and fishers up rivers.
"He'd done a lot of shearing and just got into the helicopter thing and was absolutely loving it, so it's a real shame," Guy Didsbury said.
"He probably wouldn't be classed as an experienced pilot but certainly not green either. He'd been there a while."
Mr Didsbury said his brother was a good man who was hard-working, kind and generous.
The news had been "a bit of a whirlwind", and Mark's long-term girlfriend was very upset. "He will leave a big hole, that's for sure. He touched a lot of people - there's been a huge number of people coming around today [Sunday]
and ringing."
The Robinson R66 is similar to the Robinson R44 but has a turbine engine and a wider airframe, allowing it to carry five people including the pilot.
Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mike Richards could not confirm yesterday when the R66 was certified to fly in New Zealand nor how many there were in the country.
He said all helicopters had to be certified in New Zealand, independently of other countries, to make sure they were suited to local conditions.
Helisika said on its website that its R66 was registered in December last year. It said the helicopter was proving to be a very quiet and comfortable helicopter to travel in.
The company was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Police had initially been unsure whether Mark Didsbury had survived the crash.
Inspector Andy Brill of police northern communications said a rescue helicopter crew spotted the wreckage in a steep, bushy area about 7pm on Saturday.
A crew member was winched down to the wreckage, but with nightfall near and fuel running low, the search was called off.
Six police officers and a police dog resumed the search yesterday morning after they were winched into the area from the Taupo rescue helicopter.
Mr Didsbury's body was found about 50m from the wreckage about 11.30am yesterday.
His body was airlifted from the area yesterday afternoon and formally identified.
TAIC chief investigator Tim Burfoot said two of his staff had been dropped to the remote crash site yesterday. He described it as very rugged terrain and the helicopter was lying in a gully.
He knew little about the Robinson R66 other than it was a relatively new model.
APNZ
